View all available spatial / GIS layers

1. Interactive Online Mapping Server

The online mapping server allows users to navigate, measure, turn layers on and off, and identify features. However, compared to traditional GIS, it has very limited functionality.

Launch Online Map Now

2. Connect to the Spatial Database using ArcGIS

MCM-LTER personnel and interested researchers may connect to the ArcGIS Server database to directly retrieve layers and maps. Users must have access to ArcGIS 9.2. This is the superior option - all layers, analytical capabilities, print and layout options, etc. are available. For MCM-LTER personnel - please log in to the Restricted Access GIS section of the website to learn how to connect. Other researchers - please email the data manager for more information.

3. Exported GIS Map Layers Available for Download

Basic Layers from the MCM-LTER spatial database have been exported and symbolized, and they are available for download here.

1. MCMLTER_GIS_Export_Layers.zip (10MB)

   This file contains vector map layers, including:

   • glaciers
   • lakes and ponds
   • streams - monitored, and not monitored
   • topo lines - 50m
   • ocean
   • glacier stake locations
   • met station locations
   • stream gauge locations
   • camp locations

   Note - many layer features are also encoded with URLs to up-to-date data on this website. For a more complete description of available layers, please check out the README file.

2. MCMLTER_GIS_Raster_Layers.zip (very large file - 125MB)

   This file contains raster base layers, including:

   • 30m DEM made from USGS Topo map
   • SPOT Satellite Image 39-558
   • LANDSAT 7 Satellite Image

   Note - the SPOT and LANDSAT layers are not MCM-LTER data products. Additional raster layers are available by connecting directly to the MCM-LTER Spatial Database.

4. Non-Georeferenced Maps

• Aerial Photography - Clickable map featuring 1993 aerial photography (exit site)
• Bathymetry Maps
  • Lake Bonney
  • Lake Fryxell
  • Lake Hoare

5. Other Antarctic Mapping and GIS Resources on the Web

• Atlas of Antarctic Research at the USGS (exit site) - The USGS has additional Dry Valley GIS layers available for download, including the following:
  • High Resolution (2m) LIDAR Elevation data - Taylor, Wright, Victoria, and Beacon Valleys
  • Raster Layers - Basemap, 100m DEM, and 30m DEM for the entire Dry Valleys region

• LANDSAT Image Mosiac of Antarctica (LIMA) - High resolution satellite imagery of the McMurdo area, Antarctica. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the British Antarctic Survey (BAS), and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), with funding from the National Science Foundation (NSF), created LIMA from more than 1,000 Landsat ETM+ scenes.
• New Zealand Antarctic GIS - Access Antarctica - Courtesy of the University of Canterbury, Antarctic Studies